Question of the Week: Should Dodge try to save the rallycross program?

Last Friday we brought you all the unfortunate news that the Dodge Dart rallycross program will be discontinued for the 2014 racing season. A Chrysler representative confirmed that the company will not be participating in the Global RallyCross series next year and while Chrysler has actually quit altogether – taking a year off could very well mean the end of the Dart rally program.

Our question of the week relates to that decision and we want to know what you all think. Should Dodge try to save the RallyCross program?

While it is obvious that Global RallyCross has a much smaller reach than, say, NASCAR, it is a hot and rapidly growing sport that is of great interest to younger gearheads. With names like Ken Block and Tanner Foust quickly becoming household names (in households where the family is into cars), we can expect Global RallyCross to continue to flourish – especially now that Red Bull has been named the title sponsor. Unfortunately, it appears that the continued growth will come without a Mopar entry.

Now that Dodge is out of the GRC and out of NASCAR, the only motorsports options for Dodge fans are the NHRA and the world of endurance racing. While endurance racing is exciting, many younger racing fans don’t want to spend 4 hours watching a NASCAR race so they definitely don’t want to watch 12 hours of an endurance race. There is also the problem that the American LeMans Series in which the new Vipers compete receives fairly poor television coverage so it is even harder to follow then the Global RallyCross Series that is featured on ESPN.